Electronic Pornography

ANN LANDERS Syndicated Columnist

March 16, 1994|ANN LANDERS

Dear Ann Landers: I am in my late teens and very much concerned about my sister. I was looking for something in her desk and found a bunch of pornographic letters from some man across the country on the on-line computer network that my parents subscribe to. These letters are sexually explicit. This man is in college, and I'm sure he has no idea that my sister is 12 years old.

Should I tell my parents? They know Margie communicates with several pen pals on this computer network, but I'm sure they have no idea that this sort of trash is being sent to her.

My sister and I are not close, and I wouldn't be comfortable confronting her. - Worried and Waiting for Guidance

Dear Worried: You don't need to be "close" to your sister to tell her that you have become aware of her "correspondence" with an adult male and are worried about her. Chicago attorney Joan Hall says there is no federal statute that prohibits sending pornography by computer. It's too bad the law hasn't caught up with the technology.

Dear Ann Landers: I am saddened and angry about your response to the recent letters regarding "false memories."Your response was that "while some memories of early childhood abuse are real, many accusations are false."

Of course, there are some incidents of false memories, but most therapists will tell you that they are few compared with the number of people who were abused and repressed the memories.

I am a survivor of abuse who repressed the memories for many years. I went through 18 months of nightmares as the memories surfaced. During this time, my mother began attending "false memory syndrome" support group meetings to discredit me.

You gave the impression that the majority of abuse memories are false. If you would consult mental health professionals, you'd find that the majority disagree with you. - A Survivor (Wexford, Pa.)

Dear Survivor: This is a subject about which I do not need to consult any mental health professionals. I have been receiving letters from both the abused and abusers for as long as I've been writing this column.

I chose recently to focus on those who were falsely accused because their side is rarely presented. It is true that most of the memories of early child abuse are rooted in fact. Most of those who repressed memories were abused when they were very young - not teen-agers.